


ashes to ashes

by achievingelysium



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Angst, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lio Fotia Whump, Past Character Death, Post-Canon, Temporary Character Death, You Know............., and i WILL write all the meis & gueira & lio fics, i WILL write all the lio whump fics in this fandom and you CANNOT stop me, they all love each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21755092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/achievingelysium/pseuds/achievingelysium
Summary: Meis jerks awake. His heart pounds in his chest. His fingers curl, wrist twisting inward, but there is no flicker of fire in the darkness. Nothing but air is conjured as Meis tries again, and again.Days after the fall of the Parnassus Project, with the Promare gone and the Burnish down a leader, Meis struggles to find his footing. Or: Lio takes care of his people until he can't; Meis and Gueira take care of him and each other; and a surprisingly helpful Burning Rescue team takes care of all of them.
Relationships: Gueira & Meis (Promare), Lio Fotia & Gueira & Meis
Comments: 27
Kudos: 244





	ashes to ashes

**ashes to** **ashes**  
achieving elysium

* * *

His mouth tastes like ash. In the hospital room, everything is quiet and still.

But Meis is so angry the street would’ve been burning if he could still control fire. 

“Boss is asleep,” Gueira murmurs, putting a hand on his arm. “Come on. Let’s take a walk.” 

Meis can’t move. He can’t stop staring at Lio’s face—eyes shut, lashes pale against his skin, and beneath that blooming and ugly bruises. Lio is swallowed by the hospital bed. He looks small. He looks young. When the doctor was listing off Lio’s injuries, Meis felt each one. He’d felt the crack of phantom knuckles against his jaw, his ribs caving under a gaping pressure, the weakness in his hands. 

A cold that burned over his heart. 

“Meis,” Gueira says, and Meis tears his eyes away. There is no healing fire, so the wounds have slowly returned. And Lio had taken the brunt of it. 

“I’m not leaving him,” Meis snaps right back. 

“He’ll be fine,” Gueira says patiently. “We need a break, too. Food. Sleep. So we can keep going for him.”

Gueira rubs at his face, runs a hand through his short hair. The tattoo on his shoulder catches Meis’ eye; they’d gotten them done together. Lighting and wind. The two of them. Storm and song.

It’s funny. Gueira’s usually the loud one, explosive, but Meis feels like they’ve switched places. Meis wants to burn so badly it hurts. He wants to scream. He’s tempted to give Gueira’s old cooldown trick a try, which really amounts to destroying shit until he’s a little less pissed off. 

What he’d really like to do is march down to Kray Foresight’s holding cell and show him what Burnish rage feels like. But Gueira’s hand is on his arm, and the storm abates, and Meis is just—tired. 

“I don’t want to leave him.” 

Because over his own screaming he’d heard Gueira, next to him, and his brothers, and— and  _ Lio _ — the sound from him terrible and inhuman. 

Meis slips out of Gueira’s hold and pads quietly over to the hospital bed. Gueira follows. 

One of Lio’s hands is clenched into a fist. He’s still a fighter. Meis takes it, gently tugging at the fingers; they flex, curling towards him and seeking heat, and Meis doesn’t have the heart to let go. 

“I don’t think he’d want us to leave,” Meis finally admits. He runs his thumb over Lio’s knuckles. “He’s cold.” 

“I think we all run a little cold these days.” Gueira’s mouth twists in a pained smile. 

Gueira reaches out; they hold hands over Lio, and Meis has Lio’s right hand and Gueira his left. It feels a bit like Burnish rites. There is no fire, but there’s still warmth passing from touch to touch to touch. And Lio lives.

Meis can think a little clearer. He takes a step back. The moment breaks. 

“We’ll be back,” Meis whispers, leaning down so Lio can hear him. “Promise, Boss.”

“On my life,” Gueira echoes. He glances sideways at Meis. “Let’s take that walk.”

They slip through the hospital halls. It’s getting late, so they don’t encounter many people. Just a nurse who startles at the sight of them, then ducks her head to avoid their gaze and walks quickly away. It’s not like there’s anything to be afraid of. She’s got more power than any of them do, to be honest. 

They get coffee from downstairs. Gueira thinks it tastes like shit, but Meis downs it all the same. 

“We’ll probably be kicked out soon,” Meis mentions over his coffee. He doesn’t finish it, keeping the bottom third to warm his hands through the cup. 

Gueira snorts. “Like they could stop us.” 

Gueira’s not wrong, exactly. Meis and Gueira do what they want. The hospital is crowded with Burnish and non-Burnish alike, the innocent bearing the brunt of Foresight’s  _ project _ . 

“Lio would want us in charge.” Gueira blows out a breath. “He’s out of commission. He’d rather us look after the others than after him.”

Meis is of half a mind to curl up in the hospital bed next to Lio and sleep. Close enough to protect him, close enough to act as a shield, a barrier so no one can enter without getting through Meis first. 

Gueira, though, seems to be full of insight today. 

“He’s being taken care of.” 

Meis scoffs. “Can we trust them?” 

“We have to,” Gueira says, lowering his head. He looks away, towards the ground. “We don’t have the- the… Promare anymore. Like it or not, we gotta… we can’t take care of everyone ourselves.” 

The temporary governing council declared a state of emergency two—no, three days ago now, stepping into power. Kray Foresight and all his damn scientists, the people on the Parnassus Project are all in cells. For now, until they’re tried. It’s not what they deserve. 

That’s what Gueira thinks, anyway. 

Meis doesn’t really know himself. The vengeful part of him wants them to feel what the Burnish felt, pain and failure tearing them apart. He wants to point to his people—Gueira’s people,  _ Lio _ ’s people—and scream  _ is this what  _ we _ deserve?  _

“At least we have the Burning Rescue.” 

Meis sighs. “I hate… relying on them. I hate relying on anyone.” 

“Me, too.” 

It’s not that Meis is ungrateful for their help. He’s actually in Burning Rescue’s debt—that team had saved their asses. Galo himself had saved Lio, and that’s worth the world ten times over. Lio said they were allies, so they are. 

And they’re better than nothing. A lot better—all the blame seems to be falling on Burnish backs, but in between rescue efforts, rebuilding, and leading in council, the Burning Rescue team has also formed a tight shield. The stones thrown their way are blocked. 

But relying on them means Meis is weak. Relying on them means Meis isn’t strong enough. Relying on them means he’s failed. 

He blinks down at his coffee. There’s no steam left. His hands are gradually growing cooler. 

“The heat’s escaping,” he says. He’s almost surprised, but Meis has gotten used to feeling cold these past few days. 

Gueira slides his hands over Meis’. 

“Let’s head back up one more time before we leave.” But Gueira doesn’t move his hands, not for another moment still. They’re in this together, just as they have been and will continue to be. 

Even when Meis finishes the coffee and throws away the cup, their hands stay holding on to each other. 

Lio’s still asleep. Meis doesn’t know why he expected anything different as they go back up. Gueira leans over the side of the bed, brushing Lio’s hair away from his face and saying something quietly. He’s so gentle, so unlike the brash, spirited partner in battle Gueira usually is. Something in Meis’ chest aches. 

Gueira steps back. Looks at him. Meis swallows his fears. He doesn’t say anything because the words get all stuck in his throat, but he slumps over the bed. There’s no one to see him except Gueira, so Meis lets himself put his head to Lio’s chest to feel him breathing steadily. Lio breathes in. Meis breathes out. 

“Come on,” Gueira croaks. 

Leaving is one of the hardest things Meis has had to do, but he manages. They make it out slowly. Burning Rescue headquarters is just down the street, so they head there first for a quick meal, then some sleep. It’s sort of become the former-Mad Burnish space, too, after Galo had dragged Lio there. And where Lio went, Meis and Gueira would follow, so they’d all ended up there eventually. 

A couple of the members are in. Lucia keeps her eyes glued to the screen, but her fingers twitch in a partial wave when Meis and Gueira walk in. She’s looking at some structural designs, running scans for damage control. At another desk, Varys is snoring away in a position that can’t be comfortable. He’s got a blanket draped over his shoulders, though; Lucia has a half-eaten plate of food next to her keyboard. Someone’s taking care of them. 

Lucia spins suddenly. 

“Food, fridge,” she says matter-of-factly, “bunks in the back. Captain’s orders if anyone showed up here.” 

“Uh,” Gueira starts.

“Thank you, Lucia,” Meis says for the both of them. 

Sure enough, there are tupperwares in the fridge with pre-cooked meals. Suddenly Meis is starving, and he bounces on his toes as the microwave spins and spins. 

Gueira heats the food  _ way  _ too hot, but neither of them care. They scarf down something that might be fried rice or fired rice. It’s hot enough that it’s tasteless, but Meis doesn’t stop until it’s all gone. 

“I’ll take first watch,” Gueira announces as they head into the bunks. No one else is sleeping there; Meis claims an empty one. Gueira sits next to him, so Meis puts his head in Gueira’s lap. He half-expects Gueira to shove him away, but he doesn’t. 

“Wake me in three hours,” Meis says. Gueira draws a blanket over him, but Meis wiggles his arm out and blindly hits the side of Gueira’s face. “Seriously. You gotta sleep too.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Gueira tells him. “I’m not like Boss.”

A hand runs through Meis’ hair, and he closes his eyes. He is safe. He sleeps. 

Meis jerks awake. His heart pounds in his chest. His fingers curl, wrist twisting inward, but there is no flicker of fire in the darkness. Nothing but air is conjured as Meis tries again, and again. 

It’s dark. He twists, reaching blindly, and there’s a body slumped half on the bed against the wall. 

“Gueira?” His throat is dry. He coughs. “Gueira?”

Meis’ eyes adjust, and he lurches forward when he sees Gueira’s face. “Gueira!”

Gueira startles awake then as Meis’ heart feels like it’s about to burst from between his ribs. 

“Mei… Meis?” Gueira sits up sharply. “What’s— is something wrong, is there…”

Meis can’t breathe. 

“Meis?”

“I thought, I thought—” 

He doesn’t know what he was thinking. Meis shuts his eyes, pressing his palms over them. Behind his eyelids flash images. Are they dream or memory? A band of raw skin around Gueira’s wrists, Lio bracing himself at an empty table in a meeting room, the sound of screaming and screaming and screaming. 

“Meis.” 

Meis slumps forward, and Gueira catches him. 

“Hey, hey—” And Meis stops keeping it together, grabbing fistfuls of Gueira’s shirt and screaming wordlessly into his chest. Distantly, he feels Gueira wrap arms around him. 

He gasps. The sound dies into a soft whine. 

“It’s okay,  _ Meis _ , it’s okay…”

“No,” Meis hisses, “no, no, no, no—”

Something returns to him from his dream. Memory. In the darkness it is even more terrible than Meis has realized, something Meis has been hiding from himself. 

“Galo said… Galo said…”

And there’s a crystal clear moment in Meis’ mind where everything had gone silent. The scream clawing out of Lio’s throat vanishing, and that had been more terrifying than the sound itself. 

Then a voice, desperate.  _ Lio. Lio. Lio. Stay with me.  _

Meis, half-drugged with pain, throat raw, still struggled against his restraints. He’d thrown himself, forcing his body to move—voice gone, fire bleeding, but he’d heard Galo’s desperation and fear and the way he’d said  _ Lio _ . Like they were losing him. 

“Galo said Lio was—”

Fingertips turning to ash, body still and limp. Meis wasn’t there, but the image is in his mind regardless. Lio, lifeless. 

“Lio’s okay. Boss is okay. He’s alive. We just came from seeing him, we can go again if you want to.”

Meis’ crying is ugly. He can’t remember the last time he cried. 

“He  _ died _ .” 

“I know.” 

Meis drags a hand back in a fist and pounds it against Gueira’s chest. His friend lets him. Takes the hit, and the one after that, and every blow Meis throws. 

“We were—” It has to hurt, at least a little, but Meis can’t stop— “ _ I  _ was—” Gueira catches his hands— “ _ helpless! _ ” 

“Look at me.” Gueira’s grip slides until he’s caught Meis around the wrists, and Meis looks up and realizes Gueira’s crying, too. He moves forward, pressing their foreheads together, and eases his hands free to wipe a thumb under Gueira’s eyes. 

“We’re not bound by anything anymore,” Gueira continues, “we’re not… we’re not helpless. And you weren’t the only one.” 

“Okay.” He shudders and swallows against the lump in his throat. “I’m… lucky to have you, in this life.” 

“I am luckier,” Gueira murmurs, and the flaring pain eases. It doesn’t disappear, but it eases. 

“You fell asleep,” Meis says after a moment of comfortable silence. “You said you’d wake me, but you just fell asleep, brat.” 

Gueira elbows him. “Well, look!”

“First watch,” Meis grumbles. He gets up. He doesn’t feel rested, really. After crying he feels exhausted again, but both of them seem to have slept long enough to be functional. As they head out, Gueira steals one of Galo’s jackets and throws it over himself even though it’s too big. 

“He probably won’t mind,” Gueira defends when Meis raises an eyebrow at him.

Burning Rescue seems to be up and running by the time they shuffle out.

“Meis, Gueira,” Ignis greets, nodding. He’s got his arms crossed, standing over Remi’s desk with both of them looking over some files. Paperwork, presumably. “You slept?”

“You’re not in charge of us,” Gueira quips, and Ignis’ eyes travel down to the Burning Rescue jacket Gueira is swallowed in. “But yeah. Sure. We slept.”

“Together,” Lucia spouts, shooting out of nowhere. Meis rolls his eyes. 

“Oh, hey, guys!” 

Galo’ pops up from under a table so fast Meis is surprised he doesn’t hit his head. He’s clutching a pen in his hand. 

“Ready for today, everyone?” He blinks owlishly at Gueira. “Is that my jacket? Pretty cool, right? It’s a bit big on you, though.” 

Gueira grunts. Somewhere behind Galo, Aina covers her mouth, her eyes bright with laughter. Meis supposes Gueira is right, considering the fact that most days Galo seems to walk around shirtless, anyway. 

Ignis lifts a hand. 

A screen appears with a map of Promepolis. There are areas highlighted in red—Ignis covers the plan of action for the rescue efforts today. Gueira presses his shoulder against Meis’ while they listen.

Meis zones out. Actually, Meis and Gueira  _ both  _ zone out of what Ignis is saying, because at some point they just start making weird faces at each other. 

Aina gets a hand between them, and Meis blinks, embarrassed. 

“Are you guys going with us today?”

They look at each other. Gueira shrugs. 

“I think we have other business,” Meis says carefully. “Since Boss is… anyway, we’re still working on registering everyone from— since Foresight never cared about—”

He trails off, but the mood darkens. 

Ignis tilts his head. “What do you need?”

Meis opens his mouth, then closes it again. It’s not what he’d expected, and he’s not quite sure he understands what Ignis means by that. Gueira’s hesitating, too. 

“I mean it,” Ignis says sternly. He’s not unkind, and it reminds Meis of Lio. His eyes burn. “What do you need?”

“We…”

Meis straightens his back.  _ Not helpless.  _ And there are things to do—Lio takes care of them, so in his absence Meis must take care of him, and the Burnish. What the Burnish needs, Meis needs. 

“We need more access to information, and databases. Records,” he starts, faltering, but Ignis nods. “So we can check for family members, and, and that kind of thing. And we need more supplies. Medical supplies. Food. Water. Clothing—we need clothing, and blankets, if we can get some. It’s been hard to adjust. And- and…” 

“Better temporary shelter for the Burnish,” Gueira continues, confidence growing, “and we need progress. We’re technically terrorists. That’s fine by us, but the rest of the Burnish—most of them—are innocent.”

“Done,” Ignis says, and Meis actually stumbles a step backwards. 

“That’s… huh?”

“Yeah!” Galo cheers, “We can totally do that!”

“We’ve got our stores in the back—” Varys rumbles. 

“I’ll ask the council about records, and see if they can approve anything more for—”

“Temporary housing—”

The Burning Rescue members are all nodding to each other like there’s some big secret that Meis isn’t in on. It can’t just be  _ done _ , just like that. It’s not that easy. But they’re all going on like they can do it. 

“We’re Burning Rescue,” Lucia drawls. “We’re meant to, y’know, rescue. I think we can figure something out.” 

“Wait, wait, wait,” Galo interrupts, “but these guys are a part of our team now, right? So we’re— we’re— we’re Team Mad Rescue!”

Gueira laughs. 

And it’s such a good sound that Meis just smiles. 

“I don’t know about that one,” Varys pipes up. 

“Well,” Gueira says, shoulders still shaking, “the other option is Burning Burnish.” 

Then Meis starts laughing, too. Maybe it’s relief. Maybe it’s happiness. Maybe it’s the simple promise of help. 

“Guys…” Meis says. He puts a hand over his heart. “Thank you. I mean it.” 

It’s the only thing he can offer, but it’s genuine. 

“It’s the least we can do.” 

“Well,” Gueira says, clearing his throat. “Then, um. We’ll—er, I guess we’ll go… we’ll go visit Boss before we. Yeah.” 

Galo bounces. “Tell him I said hi.” 

“Tell Lio we’ve got things under control,” Ignis says. His mouth works its way into a gruff smile. “He doesn’t have to stand alone.” 

Meis’ throat is dry when he says, “Understood.” 

Lio’s awake when they visit this time. He lights up when he sees them, lifting his arms, and Meis feels his spirit lifting too. 

“Boss!” 

Meis throws his arms around Lio, and then Gueira hugs both of them. They hold onto each other. Lio laughs a little wondrously, and that almost makes Meis cry. 

“Hey, you two,” Lio murmurs.

It sinks in. 

“ _ Lio _ ,” Meis says, and Lio tucks his head against Meis’ neck. He hooks an lazy arm around Gueira’s shoulders. 

“We’ve got you, Boss,” Gueira says. Lio huffs out a laugh. “You don’t have to fight so hard anymore.” 

“Hey, hey,” Lio says, pulling back and looking at them. “Where’s this coming from?”

Gueira smiles at him. Meis smiles back. After a moment they both catch the twitch of Lio’s lips, curving upwards. Lio’s eyes are clear. The light strikes them, and Meis thinks he looks so, so alive.

“We’re a team,” Meis says, shrugging. “You know that, right?”

“We’re a family,” Gueira corrects. He jabs a finger in Lio’s face. “No dying or passing out.”

Lio sighs. “I’m sorry.” He means that, Meis can tell. But then he grins cheekily. “I’ll try harder next time.”

“Boss!”

Lio takes Meis’ hand and squeezes tightly. “Thank you.” 

They stay that way for a long time. As the sun rises, Meis takes heart in the knowledge that fire heals as much as it burns. That day there are no Burnish rites. There are no ashes. There is just the three of them, holding on. 

**Author's Note:**

> so this whole time i was spelling gueira's name wrong. i published a whole fic and everything yesterday and no one told me and it's fine. 
> 
> things that kill me 1000%: meis & gueira & lio as found family UGHHHHHH THEY LOVE EACH OTHER they care so much....... boss........
> 
> please tell me 'burning burnish' made one of you folks laugh. hope everyone enjoyed redux!!
> 
> find me on tumblr: [queenangst](http://queenangst.tumblr.com)


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